The Frost Heave Highway

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We have been fortunate up to this point as far as highways go. Today, we hit something a little different. From Whitehorse on, but mostly for 100 miles on either side of the Alaska-Canada border, we hit frost heaves and occasional potholes with great regularity. We also drove for miles on dusty gravel, which we preferred until getting in to the camper this evening and noticing the fine dust over most things in the boys’ room and the main living area. There was also some construction requiring a long stop. Fortunately, that was at Kluane Lake which is beautiful.

When not paying attention to the road, we saw the Kluane, St Elias, and Wrangell Mountains, as well as many ponds, rivers, etcetera. I saw one bear, but it was too far away to see if it was a black bear or a grizzly. We saw two trumpeter swans and two tundra swans, but were going too fast to get photos. We also met one grumpy border agent, but thankfully he let us into the country.

We are currently staying at Sourdough Campground in Tok, Alaska. They have wi-fi, but forbid uploads. I’ll upload pictures tomorrow, assuming we have access.

Thanks to everyone for birthday wishes for Liam. He had a great day and will be happy to tell you all about it when he sees you.


Conversation of the Day:

C: Say cheese!
D: Cheese.
C: Say cheese!
D: Gouda.
C: Say cheese!
D: Roquefort.
L: Tell Dad to say butter.
C: Say butter!
D: Butter.
(laugh, laugh, laugh)
C: Say butter! We silly boys.

License Plates Noticed: AK, BC, YK, FL, AL, OR, UT, NM, AZ, SD, CO, TX, MN (Floyd & Judy)

Animals Noticed (unique to the trip):
Trumpeter swan
Tundra swan
Rabbit

High Temperature: 78o (Tok, AK)
Low Temperature: 51o (by Emerald Lake on South Klondike Highway)


Miles: 506.1

Total Time on the Road: 10:40


PS (7/4) I uploaded pictures, but for some reason travelblog isn't showing them. I'm hoping they show after I do an entry today.

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Photos

Frost heaves
Some weren't so bad, but some were nasty.

The Alaska Highway
I didn't keep track of any of the mountain/lake names today, and Mom made fun of my "miscellaneous mountain" caption, so I'm going with "The Alaska Highway" for everything instead.

Stopped for construction
At least we had a pretty view for the 15 minutes we spent there.

No need for parents
Now that we've joined up with Floyd & Judy for the next few days, we have become dispensable.

Comments

[Sandy]

Happy 4th of July
Grandma was delighted with your call. She couldn't believe it was that easy to hear you all the way from Alaska. It was a beautiful day and about 45 people were there.

[kengelha]

Conversation of the Day
That was the best of the day, so it'll be on today's entry. I'm glad she had a good time.

[Home and Away]

We've been to Alaska twice, but never driven there...
besides the long drive, I've been concerned about the road conditions. Do you have any encouraging words, as my wife really wants to drive there someday?

[kengelha]

The roads are better there than in Minnesota.
Aside from a couple sections, the roads were really not bad, certainly better than many roads around here. It's beautiful, so it goes really fast. We did up to 800 miles/day, but met many people who did 200/day. The book, can't remember the name, is an absolute necessity.